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Wednesday, October 31, 1973
CALL FOR DIRECT HONG KONG REPRESENTATION IN U.K. PARLIAMENT
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The Hon. Dr. S.Y. Chung today called on the government to consider
nominating prominent local residents for appointment as life peers in the
House of Lords to speak on Hong Kong's behalf.
"It is desirable that the Hong Kong case should be put directly
and forcibly to the Ministers in H.M. Government for their consideration
and that the people in Hong Kong should have direct access to the supreme
bodies in H.M. Government to voice their approval or disapproval of H.M.
Government's policy on Hong Kong," he said.
Speaking in the Legislative Council debate, Dr. Chung said he
understood that there were no constitutional difficulties for Hong Kong's
representation in the House of Lords, and he noted that the West Indies,
before its independence, also had direct representation in the Upper House
of Parliament,
Recently, he said, matters concerning Hong Kong had been debated in
Parliament without any direct participation from Hong Kong and problems
and issues about Hong Kong had been raised in both Houses "without someone
from Hong Kong to put them into proper perspective."
Occasionally, he observed, there were cases of conflicting interest
between the Hong Kong authorities and the British government.
Hong Kong was a Golony and government officials were basically
members of the U.K. civil service and, strictly speaking, were under the
directives of Whitehall, he added.
/"Despite
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